The present invention relates to bulk container filling machines, and, more particularly, to a multi-station filling apparatus and process for filling bulk containers while simultaneously enabling the deployment and staging of at least one empty container while at least one other container is being filled.
Filling apparatuses for filling bulk containers, and, more particularly, Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers ("FIBC") have been known in the art for several years. Such filling apparatuses have typically comprised a single station for accommodating attachment of an empty FIBC, filling the FIBC and then removal of same. Examples of such prior art apparatuses include Applicant's own model S-1000 and model P-1000 Bulk Bag Filling Systems. Although such prior art apparatuses do effectively fill an attached FIBC, they can become less efficient when more than one FIBC is to be filled with a specific material at any given time.
The filling cycle associated with the filling of material into an FIBC typically ranges from only a few minutes to in excess of thirty minutes. Furthermore, once the FIBC is filled, replacement time associated with removal, and attachment of another empty FIBC, takes approximately four minutes to accomplish --assuming that the operator removes and replaces the filled FIBC immediately after filling has completed. Nonetheless, this "idle" time, associated with the single station apparatus, results in lost production time and increased cost.
The prior art has additionally disclosed filling apparatuses which incorporate multi-filling stations. Examples of such prior art are: Rutherford, U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,173 and Rexus, U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,727. Specifically, Rutherford, '173 discloses a rotating turn-table wherein a filling tube continuously feeds material into a ring-shaped filling hopper and then eventually into a bag. The bags themselves are rotated toward and into a filling position where the hopper discharges the material therein. Rexus, '727 discloses a rotating carousel wherein the filling tube of the carousel rotates to a specific filling station. Although such prior art does disclose multi-station filling apparatuses having position movable features, none of such prior art discloses a multi-station filling apparatus having a movable carriage which simultaneously rotates inner and outer frame members and, in turn, a container to be filled, between a container deployment station and a spatially separated container filling station, and, wherein the inner frame member is displaceable from the outer frame member, at the container filling station, toward operable attachment to a stationary filling chute and transfer of the load of same to an elevated scale member. In addition, none of such prior art discloses, much less suggests, the use of material settling means operably associated with an underlying container support for settling the material within the container at predetermined time or weight intervals during the filling process to, in turn, maximize the filling capacity of the container itself, in the environment of a multi-station filling system.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a multi-station filling apparatus which includes at least one container filling station and at least one container deployment station, safely spaced apart from the filling station, so that an empty container can be safely attached to the apparatus simultaneously with the filling of another container at the container filling station--to, in turn, substantially eliminate idle, non-productive filling time.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a multi-station filling apparatus which comprises a movable carriage which automatically rotates an empty container at the container deployment station toward and into operable positioning at the container filling station.
It is still further an object of the present invention to provide a multi-station filling apparatus wherein the movable carriage includes an outer frame member and displaceable inner frame members which rotate in unison with the outer frame member, and, wherein an inner frame member is substantially released from the outer frame member at the container filling station, and then raised toward and into operable contact with an elevated filing chute and weighing mechanism.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent in light of the present Specification, Claims and Drawings.